Milk-Free Diets

Allergies to milk products, or lactose intolerance, means the protein in milk causes digestive or allergic problems for you. A dairy-free diet eliminates that dilemma. Knowing the difference between lactose intolerance and milk allergies will help you determine whether you can tolerate any milk products. Food labels use names for dairy that are not recognizable. Learn these names to make sure you do not have a reaction or become ill.

A Day of Milk-Free Foods

For breakfast, you can have orange juice, oatmeal made with water or milk alternative, toast with margarine and jelly, and coffee with a nondairy creamer.

For lunch, have a turkey sandwich with mayonnaise, a tossed salad with vinaigrette dressing, a banana and a cup of milk substitute.

Dinner might consist of broiled fish, consomm, vegetables, potatoes or rice, and fruit, gelatin or a nondairy cookie for dessert.

Foods to Avoid

Make sure you read all labels and ask about ingredients. Baked goods contain milk products, as do baking mixes, butter, calcium caseinate, candy, cheeses, cheese sauces, chocolate, bologna, cream, cottage cheese, scalloped or creamed foods, dry cereals, dry milk powder, ice cream, puddings, whey, sausage, puddings and white sauces, among other items. Egg or pasta dishes may use butter or milk; check the recipe and make necessary adjustments. Read your peanut butter label to look for milk ingredients. Anything having whey casein, caseinates, hydroysates, milk solids, artificial butter flavor, lactose, lactoglobulin or lactalbumin is not for you.

Milk Substitutes

Learning to cook and eat with milk substitutes is easy because of the variety available. Try different milks such as soy, rice, almond, hemp or dairy substitutes and grain beverages. At your grocer, you can find nondairy products for ice cream or cheese, yogurt and margarine, even chocolate. Kosher food labeled pareve or parve indicates that food does not have milk or milk products. Use vegetable oil instead of butter or cream.

Lactose Intolerance vs. Milk Allergies

If you are lactose intolerant it means that you do not have enough lactase enzymes to digest the milk sugar. You can probably tolerate small amounts of dairy such as yogurt, because the bacterium breaks down the sugar. If you are allergic to milk, your immune system responds to milk protein and attacks it.

Bloating, diarrhea, stomach pain and gas occur after you have eaten if you are lactose intolerant. Milk-allergy symptoms include skin rashes, breathing problems that can be life-threatening, hives or gastrointestinal pain.